Laundry net



. l5, 1936. R, DlCKEY 2,064,594

LAUNDRY NET Filed Feb. 2o, 195:5v

/f //f//n j e o c( d: o o I oooeoooooooooe//l 7 o@006000000060000oooooooooooc? o o o o o E o o o og l o OO o o o o oo O o;

o; O s O0 E oo o ooo 00000 o ooe(D oo @QQQQQQQQQQQQ4 QOQQQQQQQQQQQECW INVENTOR /7 v ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 15, 1936 FFICE PATENT LAUNDRY NET ,Ralph L. Dickey, Upper Montclair, N. J., assigner to United States Rubber Products, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Applicant., February zo, 19305, serian No. 7.352

3 Claims.

My invention relates to laundry nets and more particularly to laundry nets of the all-rubber type and the closure means therefor.

In loading and unloading laundry nets a. quickly manipulatable means is desired under all conditions. In closing such nets the net and the contents are dry, while in opening them they are wet and their slipperiness adds to the dliiiculties of rapid manipulation by an operator. Also, the characteristics of the washing solutions in which the nets are used is such that the elimination of metal parts is desirable, and such metal parts as are used need be non-corrosive, such as plated brass.

In the closing of rubber laundry nets, the inherent resiliency of the rubber when closely folded oiers a certain amount of resistance to the closing operation which is not present in fabric nets. Hence the ends or mouths of all-rubber nets cannot be closed so tightly as is possible with fabric nets. Accordingly, in order to prevent escape of articles from the mouths of such rubber laundry nets when closed by the conventional pins, it is necesary to provide an especial construction.

I provide an all-rubber laundry net in which the top edge of the net has a reinforced portion through which there is a series of holes for the reception of the fastening pin. Wings or flaps of the body rubber project above the reinforced area and serve as additional closing means. The naps are staggered with respect to the holes' in the reinforced portion so that when the pointed part of the closing pin is passed through the openings the upper or head carrying part lies between the wings or flaps. The reinforced portion of the net in combination with the Wings or flaps are folded when the pin is fastened so that the inherent pinching of the reinforced rubber and the flaps at the folds provides an effective closure for the net even though they are not drawn together as tightly as is done with a'fabric net. The pin receiving openings intermediate the end openings are elongated in order that the pin may pass therethrough without requiring exact registry and close pinching oi the rubber. Close bending of the folds would tend to deteriorate the rubber at the folds.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a present preferred embodiment of my invention in which: 1 e

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the open laundry net;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a portion of 5 the net showing the initial steps in closing it;

(Cl. 15G- 3) Fig. 3 is a broken perspective view of the tcp of the net when closed; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing a detail of construction.

A laundry net l embodying my invention com- 5 prises side walls 2 of sheet rubber material, preferably of a. wide continuous piece joined along one edge by a seam 3. The sheets are joined at the bottom by a. seam 4 and the top 5 is left open for inserting or removing the contents.

In order that there shall be an adequate circulation of the washing solution the side walls are provided with perforations t which should exceed at least 20% oi the total area of the side walls. However, if the area of the perforations exceeds 30% of the side wall area, mechanical dimculties in forming the net arise and the net tends to deteriorate by breakdown of the rubber between-the perforations. Accordingly, I consider that al ratio of from 20% to 30% of periorated area is the most emcient. A suitable range for the width of rubber between adjacent perforations is from. 1A to 3/4 inch.

In handling such nets the net and the con-f tents are usually dry when iilled but are wet and slippery when emptied. Accordingly, the usual practice with laundry nets is to close the open ends with a large safety pin l, whose prong 8 extends through the openings in the net and whose clasp or clamp 9 is placed above the mouth 5 of the net. Because of the `deteriorating action of washing solutions the pin is made of corrosion resisting metal such as plated brass or the like.

For receiving the pin d the top of the net is provided with a series of openings lil and Il. The openings it are placed near the edge of the net for the initial and final reception of the prong t. The intermediate openings il are elongated and definitely spaced apart so that the prong 8 may be easily threaded therethrough without 40 undue folding or crimping of the intermediate rubber. As an' example of a satisfactory construction, the holes may be spaced apart 2% to 21/2 inches, the holes l0 having a diameter of substantially of an inch, and the openings il being substantially ci an inch in length crosswise of the openings i I and the bag. It has been found that if the spacing is shortened by more than 1/2 of an inch, dimculty is'had in threading the prong d. 0n the other hand, if the dimensions are increased by more than l of an inch the net is not tightly closed during use.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the rubbery -in the area of the openings it and il may be reinforced by the application of a. fabric strip 55 I2, preferably rubber coated. As a'washing solution, such as is used in commercial laundries, produces rapid deterioration of fabrics exposed to it for undue lengths of time, the fabric strip I2 is in turn completely covered with a sealing' strip I 4 of rubber. The perforations I0 and II are preferably formed in the side walls 2 and the strips I2 and I4 after they are assembled, although they may be separately perforated and then assembled, if desired. The entire net is preferably vulcanized after the seams 3 and 4 are made and the strips I2 and I4 are in place.

In the use of Vfabric laundry nets heretofore employed it has been possible to close the top of the net by tightly folding the fabric and holding it with a safety pin. However, all rubber laundry nets cannot be folded as tightly as fabric because of the inherent resiliency of the rubber. In order to prevent the loss of the contents of the net the reinforcing strips are supplemented by flaps I5 projecting from the edges of the side walls 2. As shown in Fig. 4, the aps are formed by continuations of the side walls 2, although separate flaps may be used. The flaps on the opposite side wallsare in alignment to form pairs. The pairs are separated by spaces I6 which are in alignment with the openings I0 and II. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the clasp carrying part of the pin 8 extends through the spaces I6 in alignment with the openings I0 and I I receiving the prong 8. Accordingly the pairs of flaps I6 are folded against each other, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The action of the flaps in conjunction with the resistance of the folds of the side walls and reinforcing strips cause the net to close tightly and prevent the escape of articles I'I at the folds in the net. This is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 where an article I'I is shown working up into one of the folds until it is stopped by the pressure of the rubberin the folds.

An, all rubber laundry net embodying my invention may be readily manipulated by an operator when either in a wet or dry condition because of the disposition and shape of the pin receiving openings. 'I'he surfaces of the net are perforated to afford a maximum of circulation of the washing solution With a minimum loss of mechanical strength in the net.

While I have shown and described a presentpreferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood thatit may be otherwise embodied within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent 1s:- v

1. A laundry net having a portion adjacent to an open end provided with a series of openings for the reception of a securing pin, and separated fiaps projecting beyond said portion to serve as sealing means, the spaces between said flapsv being aligned with said openings for receiving a portion of the securing pin.

2. A laundry net having a portion adjacent to an open end provided with a series of openings for the reception of a -securing pin, andseparated flaps projecting from each edge of the net, the flapss on the edges being aligned in pairs to cooperate and serve as sealing means, and the spaces between said flaps being aligned with said openings for' receiving a portion of the securing pin.

3. A rubberlaundry net comprising a body of rubber open at one end, a re-enforcing strip ad jacent said end and perforated for the reception of a pin prong, rubber flaps extending beyond said strip and arranged in pairs to form seals, said pairs being spaced apart adjacent the perforations in the strip for the reception of the remainder of the pin, and the intermediate perforations being elongated whereby the pin may be threaded through the perforations and theintermediate rubber and iaps be bent to form seals for the contents of the net.

RALPH L. DICKEY. 

